Board of Audit and Inspection: "AI Recruitment Interviews Should Not Limit Candidates' Opportunities Due to Connection Errors"

Board of Audit and Inspection Publishes Korea International Cooperation Agency Audit Results... "Top Written Exam Scorer Failed Due to AI Interview"

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Jeong-min] The Board of Audit and Inspection has found issues with classifying candidates as no-shows and disqualifying them due to network problems during AI interview-based recruitment of new employees.

The Board of Audit and Inspection disclosed the audit results on the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) on the 16th. The audit was conducted over 15 days from May 11 to 29 last year.

According to the Board, KOICA introduced AI interviews in June 2019 and conducted AI interviews instead of the traditional aptitude tests in five rounds of regular employee recruitment. KOICA used the AI interview results as reference materials for the first official interview, as the reliability of the AI interview results had not been sufficiently verified.

However, KOICA established recruitment plans and announced job postings that restricted candidates who did not participate in the AI interview from taking the first official interview.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The Board of Audit and Inspection explained, "It is technically possible to continue the interview from the stage where a freeze occurs due to network issues during the AI interview process."

The Board pointed out, "Considering the varying network connection environments of candidates, in cases where failure to complete the interview is due to network problems rather than candidate fault, measures should have been taken to allow resuming from the interrupted stage to prevent harm to candidates."

The Board criticized, "Without thoroughly reviewing the possibility of connection errors and fairness aspects, KOICA decided to allow only one reconnection attempt uniformly. Three candidates, including the top scorer in the written exam, who experienced two freezes during the AI interview were notified of the incomplete status due to these freezes but were treated as having not taken the AI interview and thus disqualified."

The Board requested the KOICA President to thoroughly manage operations to ensure that no candidate is restricted from participating due to connection errors or other issues difficult to attribute to the candidate’s fault when using AI interviews, and to caution the related individuals (3 candidates).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.